The
ARES FMG is a folding
submachine gun designed by
Eugene Stoner while he was an owner of
ARES Incorporated. Stoner designed the gun for concealment and covert use, describing it as a “businessman’s personal defense weapon”. Allegedly, Stoner had the idea of a defense weapon for VIPs and CEOs following the numbers of kidnappings of many of such persons in
South America during the early 1980s. While the design was finalized, and a few functional copies produced, the FMG never entered full production.
The weapon has a unique architecture, in that it is designed to be folded into a box shape, but it can be unfolded and made ready to fire in a matter of seconds. When folded, the size is about the same as a cigarette carton, and the appearance is deliberately similar to an old-fashioned metal commercial radio. It can be fitted with a small fake antenna if necessary.
The Ares FMG can be folded with its 20-round magazine loaded. A 32-round magazine was also available, but its use prevented folding the weapon.
The weapon inspired a Russian, a Ukrainian and an American copy.
While descriptions of a fictional "ARES II FMG" exist on the web, the actual ARES FMG was only chambered in
9x19mm Parabellum.
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